A decision will be taken by the end of September on whether to relaunch the eJustice electronic case management system.
This was announced on Thursday 22 August by the Deputy Minister for Research, Technology and Digital Policy, Nicodimos Damianou.
It is recalled that there have been serious problems in the operation of the programme. At the beginning of 2023, the e-Justice system collapsed. In particular, there were serious technical problems with the registration of new cases. Complaints from court staff and lawyers poured in, leading to real chaos. The shortcomings forced the government to suspend the programme and send it back for revision.
Damianu said it had taken six months of work and analysis of the problems the system presented at the beginning of its operation.
We are finally in the final stages of making decisions on the future of the programme,' he said.
Damianu also stressed that IBM, which took over the project, has made several efforts to ensure that the system can fulfil its purpose. He added that the results of preliminary tests are currently being awaited.
It is worth mentioning that the new programme is aimed at streamlining legal procedures and abandoning the previous cumbersome and time-consuming manual methods of processing and checking information. Moreover, the new e-Justice platform is designed to unite all parties involved in the process: lawyers, law firms, court staff, clerks, judges, police and relevant government agencies.
The innovations relate to the filing and registration of certain statements of claim listed below:
- Nicosia and Larnaca District Courts - civil jurisdiction: bankruptcy petitions and notifications, general petitions, discharge of debts and others.
- Famagusta District Court - civil jurisdiction: indictments.
- Administrative Court - supervisory jurisdiction: appeals.